


Tea?

by MezInWonderland



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Fluff, M/M, famous!harry, famous!zayn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-27
Updated: 2014-06-27
Packaged: 2018-02-06 10:47:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1855270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MezInWonderland/pseuds/MezInWonderland
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As soon as Harry walked in, he knew he’d found the perfect place to hide away. He’d been walking the streets of London when he’d noticed the rain clouds overhead. It was busy enough that he hadn’t been noticed thus far but he just knew walking into a busy store would be a push too far.</p>
<p>The place he’d stumbled upon, Curiositea, was as quaint inside as the name suggested. It was quiet, warm and most importantly, dry.</p>
<p>Harry shook the raindrops out of his hair, ignoring the fact he probably looked like a dog coming in from the rain, before making his way to the counter.</p>
<p>He cleared his throat to get the attention of the server but as he turned around, the noise died. The man, angel really, was so pretty. Harry thought he was the prettiest man he’d ever seen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tea?

 

As soon as Harry walked in, he knew he’d found the perfect place to hide away. He’d been walking the streets of London when he’d noticed the rain clouds overhead. It was busy enough that he hadn’t been noticed thus far but he just knew walking into a busy store would be a push too far.

The place he’d stumbled upon, Curiositea, was as quaint inside as the name suggested. It was quiet, warm and most importantly, dry.

Harry shook the raindrops out of his hair, ignoring the fact he probably looked like a dog coming in from the rain, before making his way to the counter.

He cleared his throat to get the attention of the server but as he turned around, the noise died. The man, angel really, was so _pretty._ Harry thought he was the prettiest man he’d ever seen.

“Oops.” When Harry heard his voice, he was fairly certain he fell in love. “Sorry mate, what can I get you?”

“Tea.” Good one Styles, he thought to himself. Not like you’re a world renowned pop star or anything. Not like you charm millions of people every day.

“Okkayyy. One tea coming right up.” The man smirked at him.

“Don’t you like.. need my name or something?” Better, he thought to himself. Harry could feel his nerve recovering.

“I think I know your name, love. Not been living under a rock.” Harry could feel his cheeks go red, not sure if it was from being called love or being an idiot.

“Right. Of course. I’ll just..” He looked around quickly and saw a table in the corner, “be over there.” It wasn’t until he was halfway across the café that he realised he had not, in fact, paid. He groaned to himself, wondering if it could get any worse. He’d never been reduced to a mess like this before.

He turned to go back to the counter, slamming his leg into the corner of a table. Biting back the agonised grunt he wanted to make, he forced on a smile and headed back to the pretty boy.   
“Sorry mate, I forgot to pay.”

The man turned around, looked at Harry for a moment and then said, “You just go and sit yourself down. This ones on me, Curly.”  And then he sauntered into a back room. Yep, Harry thought to himself, I am royally screwed.

 

 

“Liam!” Louis hissed. “LIAM!”

“What mate?” Liam said, not turning from the cakes he was placing in the oven.

“Harry Styles is in our café!”

“Awesome mate.”   
“Liam!” He picked up a wash cloth and threw it as his friends head.

“OI!”

“HARRY STYLES IS IN OUR CAFÉ.” Louis face had taken on a red colour and he was shaking as he thought about what had happened.

“Is Zayn with him?” Louis let the awe lapse momentarily to let a smirk slip into place.

“Oh so now you’re interested.”

“Shut up! What did he say?”

“He just sort of… barked tea at me then didn’t pay.”   
“Well have you given him the tea?”

“Shit no.” Louis quickly went back out to the front, putting together the best tea he could make. He turned when something hit the back of his head and found a towel had fallen to the floor behind him. He looked up as Liam winked at him before disappearing back into the Kitchen.

Louis took a deep breath, picked up both the tea and the towel as well as his favourite cake, and made his way over to Harry.

“Here you go mate.” He said, willing his hands not to shake as he put the tea and cake down. Harry didn’t even look up when he did it so he quickly moved away.

“Hey..” A hand grabbed his wrist and Louis heart stopped. “What’s this?”

He was pointing to the fudge tart that Louis had placed down before him, staring at it with a confused expression.

“It’s.. well it’s my favourite pudding. I thought you might like some.”  He took a deep breath. “I got this for you as well. To dry out those lovely curls.”  Flirting with lovely boys was something Louis could do. Flirting with pretty, _famous_ boys who happen to be the object of your intense affection is different however.

“What’s your name?” God, Harry’s voice made Louis shiver. Even in interviews it had that affect but in person, it was something else.

“Louis.”

“Louis.” Harry rolled the name around in his mouth then he beamed at Louis and Louis could have sworn he felt his heart stutter. “I like it.”

“Well I’m glad my name meets with your satisfaction pop star.” The bell above the door rung. “I should go. Enjoy your tart.” He left Harry sitting at the table in the corner with a book and a smile.

Harry spent the next few hours sitting quietly in the corner with Louis watching him carefully out of the corner of his eye. He’d come over once for a refill and had blushed and stuttered beautifully as Louis had flirted with him but eventually he’d bought his mug back over and said,

“I have to leave now.” Louis tried not to let the disappointment show on his face. “Bye Louis.”

He turned to leave and Louis watched him go, until he heard the kitchen door open behind him, signalling Liam’s arrival into the shop. “Wait!” Harry turned so fast, Louis thought he might fall over.

“Next time, bring your friend Zayn.” Louis couldn’t believe what he’d just said. Caught up in his own mortification, he barely registered the slap he received from Liam who whispered a scandalised, ‘Lou!’, but he definitely caught the small smile Harry gave him and the “Next time.. Yeah,” before he walked out the door, the bell tinkling behind him.

 

 

He had to tell Zayn about this. Absolutely. Right now. Except Zayn was asleep when he walked into their flat. Oh well, he thought, not for long.

He picked up the closest pillow and threw it at his friends face.   
Zayn spluttered, “’the fuck man!?”

“I just met the love of my life Zee.”

“Oh yeah? What was it this time? A muffin? Oh a dog! Maybe we’ve moved on from the hamster it was last time.

“Shut up! It’s a person.” That had Zayn sitting up and taking notice.

“Yeah? Like a real one? Not a dummy?”

“No Zee a real one! And he’s pretty and funny and charming. And I totally made an idiot of myself.”

“Mate, you’re Harry Styles. People literally throw themselves at you. It can’t have been that bad.”

“It was. I walked into his shop and just said tea at him! It was awful.”

“There must have been something good.” Zayn knew as well as anyone how much of an embarrassment Harry could be so he knew that Zayn was just trying to encourage him.

“I said I liked his name.” Harry said morosely into the pillow he was clutching.

“See not all bad! Are you going to go back?”

“No! Yes. I don’t know.” Harry sighed. “Zayn I love him!”   
“Well that settles it then. Tomorrow we’re going back.”

 

 

**Next Day**

“Well now Harry, he is a cutie isn’t he?” Zayn said, smirk evident in his loud voice. Louis turned around from his place behind the counter and practically tripped in his haste to get to them. “Harry!”

Louis turned beet red and took a deep breath.

“Eager isn’t he? Looks like you’re not the only one with a little crush. OW! Harry what was that for?!” He exclaimed after Harry elbowed him in the side.

“Shut up Zee.” Harry hoped his face didn’t portray the smitten smile he felt like it was. “Louis. Hi.” His voice had a stupidly breathy quality. God he was an embarrassment.

“You’re back.” At least, Harry thought to himself, Louis seems as affected as I am.

“Tea?” Harry wished he could be more eloquent around this boy. He could hear Zayn sniggering behind him but that quickly wore off when another boy.. Liam? Harry thinks, comes out from the kitchen. Zayn is next to him faster than he can blink and immediately sets to work reducing the poor man to a blushing wreck. He turns his attention back to Louis who appears to have collected his wits.

 

“Do you not know how to ask for things properly?” Louis grinned at Harry cheekily. He couldn’t believe Harry had come back! And had actually bought Zayn with him!

“I.. uhh..” Harry began stuttering.

“S’alright babe. We can’t all be Barista’s with excellent people skills. Go and sit down. I’ll bring you your tea.” He turned around and was pulling out what he needed when a deep voice behind him rumbled, “And maybe your number?” Breathe Louis. He had to remind himself this as his air supply seemed to be getting thin. Charm, flirt, you know how to do that.

“Maybe when you learn how to ask for things properly, Pop star.” So Louis set about making his tea and then took it over to the table where Harry was sitting.

“Your number please?” Harry looked up at him through his lashes and Louis very nearly caved.

“Sorry gorgeous. Try again.”   
“I won’t give up you know. I’ll come back until you give me your number and you’ll get so annoyed you’ll have to give it to me.” Harry had a mischievous smirk in his eyes.

 

So Harry came back. Every day for the next two months, always asking for his number and always getting the same response.

“Please, Louis, may I have your number?” “No.”

“Please, oh bringer of tea, may I have your number?” “No.”

“Please, angel of tea making, may I have your number?” “No.”

And it went on and on this way for 2 months until it stopped.

 

“You know it took 20 minutes for Zayn to get Liam’s number. Am I that much more unappealing?”

“Maybe. Or maybe I’m just not as easily impressed by pretty pop stars.”

And then it stopped. After their conversation, Harry stopped asking. Louis became worried he missed his chance but Harry still came into the shop every day, they still flirted, he just didn’t ask. And they were becoming closer and closer, Harry and Zayn often coming in for dinner after closing time or coming in early to help, mainly annoy Liam and Louis. Louis was beginning to worry he’d friendzoned himself.

 

It became a regular occurrence for the boys to be in Louis flat above the shop, watching films and messing about. One particular night they had just eaten and were sitting down in front of the TV. Often on these nights Zayn and Liam were too immersed in each other to notice Harry and Louis so they spent their nights talking.   
“Why do you work here? Why aren’t you at Uni or college?” They had turned to face each other so they were sitting cross legged on the couch, heads bent close.

“Well, I own it. My uncle gave it to me and I just can’t abandon it. I will go back to Uni someday but I need to get the shop turning profit first and hire more staff.”

“I could get you more customers. You know that right?” And this was a frequent topic of conversation.

“Haz…” he took a breath. “I can’t. It’s not right.” He wasn’t thinking about the time it would mean he missed with Harry. Not at all. Really. Nope.

“Whatever you say Lou.” He turned back to face the film and stuck his arm around Louis shoulder, inviting him to cuddle up.

An hour or two later when Louis was on the verge of sleep and the film was almost over Harry spoke. “Hey, Lou.” Wide sleepy eyes looked up at him. “Will you come to my gig next week?”

“Sure Curly,” He slurred, “You gotta pay for the ticket though.”

“I’m sure I can manage that.” Harry laughing was the last thing Louis heard before he fell asleep.

 

Louis had been thinking it must have been a dream, as Harry hadn’t mentioned it, until two tickets and backstage passed were posted through their door 3 days before the event.

“We’re going right Lou?” Liam said from behind him.

“I don’t know Liam. I don’t know what to do!” He cracked. His emotions had been staying solidly in check until he saw the tickets in front of him. He sat on the floor and bought his knees to his chest.

“Oh Louis. I’m sorry.”  
“Well it’s alright for you. You got your fairy tale. You don’t understand.”  As soon as he said it, he knew he was being bratty and the fact he saw no trace of hurt in Liam’s eyes made him feel worse as he knew how great a friend Liam was.

“I’m sorry Li. It’s just.. I missed my chance and it’s all my fault. I can’t believe I ever thought he wouldn’t be bored of me if I kept saying no.”

Liam looked at him for a minute. “Just come to the gig okay? For me.” Louis thought this was suspicious but couldn’t say no to Liam.

 

The concert was loud. Like Louis knew these two were some of the biggest names in music right now but wow. He did not realise young girls could scream that loud. And that’s saying something coming from a boy with so many sisters. They luckily were down near the front in a smaller enclosure. The girls seemed to be slightly more manic here but there were less of them so they counted that as a plus. By the time the boys came out the girls were a mess, pressed up against the barriers crying.

Liam and Louis were content to hang back a little, watch their boys in action. Louis honestly thought he might combust from the cheeky winks Harry was sending his way and the way that the boys legs seemed to go on forever in those jeans.

It was almost hard to hear what they were saying with all the girls screaming but when Harry told them to quieten down, they did. It was amazing the power he had.

“Now guys, we have some special people here with us tonight. These two awesome people we met in their coffee shop in London.” Louis sucked in a hurt breath because Harry was about to reveal the one thing he’d asked him not to. “But I’m not going to tell you where it is because the lovely owner does not want that. And I would do anything for that boy.” Louis had let out a relieved sigh but it was now caught in his throat, holding his breath.

“You see, when Harry first came back after going there, he talked about this guy for a good 2 hours. Oh Zayn he’s so pretty, he makes such good tea, _I want to marry him._ I kid you not he actually said the last one.” Zayn was wandering around the stage, clearly having fun with embarrassing Harry.

“You embarrassing me totally wasn’t the point of this Zayn!” Harry shot a quick look their way but his gaze left quickly. Louis wasn’t sure what his face portrayed.

“Well you’re doing a good enough job of it yourself.”

Harry ignored Zayn, pushing on with his own story.

“So I asked for his number. But he said no. Every day for two weeks. Because I apparently cannot ask properly. He told me he wasn’t easy to please. Goodness me, you’d think being an international pop star with millions would be enough. So I thought, maybe I’m asking the wrong question in the wrong way.” Liam was squeezing Louis hand tightly and Louis was using it to ground himself. He couldn’t believe what was going on.

“So I thought to myself, what’s the right question. So, lovely Tea Boy, I’m here, on this stage, in front of you and thousands of others, asking what I hope is the right question.” He took a deep breath and looked at Zayn who nodded at him, before seeking Louis out in the crowd. “Because I thought to myself, what’s the point of asking for this boys number, when I’m fairly certain what we experienced was love at first sight. So while I might not be asking you to marry me, yet.” He added with a cheeky wink. “I was hoping that maybe..” His voice shook, portraying his nerves, “maybe you might like to be my boyfriend?” The crowd went wild and Harry looked away before Louis could even think of a way to respond. The boys used this moment as their segue into _I Would_ and Louis looked to Liam helplessly while they sang. “Later babe. Remember we’re going back stage.”

  
After the concert, they joined a few girls waiting excitedly to meet their heroes back stage. When they walked into a large room a security guard came up and escorted them into a much smaller, more private looking room. “The boys will be around 45 minutes.” Was all he said and then he left the room.

The 45 minute wait was agony. Louis sat there biting his nails, shaking his leg, pacing. In fact he got so annoying Liam sat on him until a voice broke them out of their discussion.   
“Well this was not what I was hoping to walk in on.” Despite him being clearly joking, Louis could hear the nerves in Harry’s voice. Liam launched himself of Louis lap and into Zayn’s arms, kissing his cheek loudly and telling him how great he was. Before Louis knew what was going on, Zayn was dragging Liam out of the room and leaving Harry and Louis alone.

He didn’t understand why he was so nervous. He knew his answer was yes and Harry must do too. They hadn’t been Harry and Louis for a long time, now HarryandLouis. There was no other way.

“You’re an idiot.” Was the first thing Louis said but regretted it when Harry’s expression crumbled into a look of dejection.

“I’m sorry Lou. I thought I’d been reading this right. Obviously not. Sorry.” He backed up towards the door and Louis eyes widened in panic.

“No!” Louis lunged forward. “I mean yes! My answer is yes!” Harry still looked doubtful so Louis threw himself forward, perhaps with a bit too much force as Harry had to wrap his arms around his waist to keep him upright, but it had the desired effect Louis decided.  “You had me at _tea?_ babe. For you to get me, that was enough.”

“Was this.. too much? I just didn’t know what else to do.” Harry was looking at him with big eyes and pouting lips and Louis really just wanted to kiss them.

“No! Babe no this is all my fault. I thought I’d lost my chance with you because I was too stupid.”  
“Since I walked into your shop, I have thought of nothing but you. I don’t think you could have ever lost your chance with me.” Harry was looking at him so earnestly that Louis just had to lean up and kiss him. He pressed his lips quickly to the boys' in front of him and moved away to see his reaction. Harry was smiling soppily so he leaned forward once more.   
“We could have been doing this for so long.” Louis moaned in between kisses.

“It’s not my fault Lou. I’m very easy to please.” He smirked, turning them to press Louis up against the door behind them and working kisses up and down Louis neck. “Although you seem very easy to please now.”

“Maybe I just realised that you were right. Rich pop star, what more do I need?”

 

Epilogue

“Tea?”

“You get home from a bloody two month tour and that’s what you want! See if I get you any now you arse.” Louis said shoving at his boyfriend’s chest jokingly.

“Aww baby you know I’m joking.” Harry said before dropping his bags and sweeping his boyfriend up into his arms, laughing at Louis mumbled _yeah sure you are_ before dropping a kiss to his head.

“Would it make it better if I said I bought you presents?” Harry laughed as Louis eyes lit up at the mention of presents but was surprised when instead of tearing into the bags to find them, Louis leant up and pressed a soft kiss to his lips.

“Don’t need presents if you’re back.” Harry loved his life. This life. Here with his boyfriend, soft and cuddly, waiting for him at home. “I missed you.” Louis said, wrapping his arms around Harry’s neck and breathing in his scent. Harry knew this was the time. This was the time for the question that he had been convinced was the right one from the beginning.

“Lou. I’ve got something to ask you.”

“Yeah babe?”

“Will you marry me?” 


End file.
